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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24881521">Choke</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teethteethteethteethteethteethteeth/pseuds/Teethteethteethteethteethteethteeth'>Teethteethteethteethteethteethteeth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bad Things Happen Bingo 2020 (Part One!) [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Comic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Fire, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Whump</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 11:07:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,021</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24881521</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teethteethteethteethteethteethteeth/pseuds/Teethteethteethteethteethteethteeth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Fun Ghoul and the Girl walk into a bar(n). And it’s on fire</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fun Ghoul &amp; Motorbaby | Grace (Danger Days)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bad Things Happen Bingo 2020 (Part One!) [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1767937</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Choke</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Heyy! Warnings for fire, and injuries not mentioned in detail.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s no secret that Fun Ghoul loves fire. They’ll stare at it for hours, let matches burn down to their fingertips just to watch the flame burn a few seconds more. The way the fire flickers, moves, disappears for a second just to return at full force. The smell of the smoke wrapping around them like a shield, stinging their eyes with the wonderful sensation of being alive. Fun Ghoul loves fire. </p><p>But now, they’re desperate to escape it. A Drac patrol caught them unaware, forcing them to take shelter in an old building, lasers quickly igniting the dry wood. Fun Ghoul and the Girl had entered the building together, leaving the bike, out of gas, ditched on the side of the road as the Dracs closed in around them. Now, she lets go of Ghoul’s hand and runs further into the building at the sight of the growing flames. <br/>“No, Girl!” It’s too late, and the smoke is growing, obscuring Ghoul’s vision, choking them. They can’t hear the Dracs outside anymore, but that doesn’t mean they’re gone. They can’t hear the Girl, either, so they follow her back and up into the crowded corners of the building, calling for her as they go. <br/>“Girl! Try to come to my voice, don’t run, save your breath!” No response, so far as Ghoul can tell. They smell burning, and a section of their hair has caught fire. They put it out, coughing, and tie the rest of their hair back, wasting precious time. When they’re not calling for the Girl, they’re choking, gagging, falling to their knees from the force of their coughs. They stumble to their feet, and continue on, hissing muttered curses as they brush against some left-behind piece of metal, searing hot pain across their hip. Eventually, they can make out the Girl’s screaming, hushed against the perpetual roaring silence in their ears, and soon after, they stumble, tripping over her in the smoke. They grab her as soon as they regain their balance, murmuring reassurances. <br/>“Hey now, Girlie. ‘S all gonna be okay, the Dracs are gone now, an’ we’ll get back to the bike right quick, hm?” She doesn’t reply, trembling in their arms as they stumble through the top floor of the building. They trip twice on their way back to the stairs they’d each climbed up, and both times Ghoul breaks the Girl’s fall with their own body, cursing in pain but never stopping for more time than it takes to regain their balance. </p><p>They reach the stairs, and Ghoul curses again, more hacking coughs than words, as they step one boot out into empty air and realize the stairs had crumbled behind them as they searched for the Girl. They turn, heading back into the thicker smoke of the closed-in top floor, feeling along the unbearably hot wall with their free hand until they touch glass. They step back, and punch the glass with as much strength as they can manage, deprived of oxygen as they are, and the glass shatters in two blows. Ghoul throws themself out of the window, tucking their body around the Girl to protect her from the fall. They roll as they hit the ground, and land with the Girl safely in their arms. The Dracs are gone, at least, tire tracks in the sand the only evidence of their former presence. Ghoul rolls over into their hands and knees and coughs until blood mixes with their spit, dripping from their mouth onto the sand. The Girl crouches beside them, not nearly as affected by the smoke as Ghoul. As Ghoul heaves, breathing in the fresh air, not soothing, but harsh, they pitch back onto their knees, freeing up their hands to sign,<br/>“Radio. Bike. Go.” The Girl nods and scrambles off, leaving Ghoul to slump back down in the sand and cough until they can no longer breathe. </p><p>When the Girl’s voice, teary but level, breaks through the radio silence, Jet Star acts quickly, grabbing the keys to the trans am and heading out with the radio in hand. The Girl gives her location first, and then she and Ghoul’s status, as she’d been taught to do, and Jet Star praises her as ey speed off towards eir family. </p><p>The Girl is waiting by the downed bike, to direct Jet off-road to Ghoul, and ey pull the am up beside her, jogging out in the direction she points em in.</p><p>As Jet makes eir way to Fun Ghoul, the Girl sits back down, hugging her arms to her chest. She sits for a few minutes more before slowly standing, and tugging at the bike to try and lift it into the trans am. It doesn’t budge, so she crawls in herself, pulling her seatbelt on in preparation of a fast exit. And moments later, Jet Star returns to the car with Ghoul slumped motionless in eir arms. Ey slide them into the passenger seat and drag the bike into the car beside the Girl. The return to the diner is silent save for Ghoul’s occasional bouts of coughing. </p><p>Back at the diner, Party Poison is on standby to help Jet carry Ghoul into the back room, propping their unconscious form sitting up in bed so they don’t choke in their sleep. Besides that, and cleaning and bandaging their burns, stitching the cuts on their hand from breaking the window, there’s not much more to be done besides wait. </p><p>So the Girl waits, curled up in Fun Ghoul’s vest by their bedside, listening to but nod understanding the others’ words, explanations of things like smoke inhalation and respiratory and a hundred other words they don’t themselves understand in full. Ghoul’s rest seems peaceful, punctuated by violent bouts of coughing that make the Girl shriek and call for Jet. </p><p>Finally, though, they awake. The Girl jumps up as they stir, and the first thing Fun Ghoul sees upon opening their eyes is her beaming face looking down on them. They reach up to hold her hand in their bandaged one, before passing out again, a faint smile on their face.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And here’s the filled prompt for both ‘trapped in a burning building’ and ‘bedside vigil’, requested by an anon for Ghoul and the Girl!! Hope ya enjoyed!<br/>Anyways, drop a comment below if you so desire, and come request a prompt on tumblr @wishiwasthemoon-tonight!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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